TAKING TIME FOR LOVE

You are often so overwhelmed by the day to day busyness of life
that you forget to express love and gratitude
for those you care about the most.
Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush,
anxious for greater developments and greater riches and so on,
so that children have very little time for their parents.
Parents have very little time for each other,
and in the home begins the disruption of peace of the world.
"Love has its own time, its own season, and its own reasons
from coming and going. You cannot bribe it or coerce it or
reason it into staying. You can only embrace it when it arrives
and give it away when it comes to you" say Kent Nerburn.
There are times when you are timid and shy
about expressing the love you feel.
For fear of embarrassing the other person, or yourself,
you hesitate to say the actual words "I love you".
So you try to communicate the idea in other words.
You say "take care" or "dont drive too fast" or "be good".
But really, these are just other ways of saying "I love you"
"You are important to me", "I care what happens to you", and "
"I dont want you to get hurt" all mean "I love you".
You are sometimes very strange people.
The only thing you want to say, and the one thing that you should say,
is the one thing you dont say.
And yet because the feeling is so real, and the need to say it is so strong,
you are driven to use other words and signs to say what you really mean.
And many times the meaning never gets communicated at all
and the other person is left feeling unloved and unwanted.
Therefore, I believe you have to listen for love
in the words that people are saying to you.
Sometimes the explicit words are necessary, but more often,
the manner of saying things is even more important.
A joyous insult carries more affection and love within
the sentiments, which are expressed insincerely.
An impulsive hug says "I love you" even though the words might be
saying something very different.
Any expression of a persons concern for another says "I love you".
Sometimes the expression is clumsy, sometimes even cruel.
Sometimes you must look and listen very intently
for the love that it contains.
You say "I love you" in many ways - with birthday gifts, and little notes,
with smiles and sometimes with tears.
Sometimes you show your love by just keeping quiet
and not saying a word, at other times by speaking out,
even harshly. You show your love sometimes by impulsiveness.
Many times you have to show your love by forgiving someone
who has not listened to the love you have tried to express.
The problem is listening for love is that you dont always
understand the language of love, which the other person is using.
A girl may use tears or emotions to say what she wants to say,
and her boyfriend may not understand her because he expects her
to be talking his language.
The problem with our world is that people rarely listen to each other.
They hear the words, but they dont listen to the actions that accompany
the words or the expression on the face.
Or people listen only for rejection or misunderstanding.
They do not see the love that is there just beneath the surface,
even if the words are angry.
The first duty of love is to listen.
You would be giving attention to those you love,
Keeping  the joy of loving  in your heart
and sharing this joy with all you meet.
NOt be afraid to express love and gratitude
for all the people that touch your life .
One of the best ways to  shows love is
your capacity to listen effectively.
I'm convinced that active listening
is perhaps the greatest gift somebody can give
his family or anyone .
You feel small and unimportant when what you are saying
is ignored or cut short. Giving a loved one your time
by giving them your attention is the greatest gift
we have to give each other.
If you listen intently you will discover
that you are a lot more loved than you realize.
Listen for love and you will find that the world
is a very loving place, after all.
So remember...If you love someone, tell them.
Remember always to say what you mean.
Never be afraid to express yourself.
Take this opportunity to tell someone what they mean to you.
Seize the day and have no regrets.
Most importantly, stay close to your friends and family,
for they have helped make you the person that you are today
and are what it's all about anyway.
Sometimes, what you care about the most gets all used up
and goes away, never to return before you can say good-bye,
say “I love you.” So while you have it, it’s best you love it,
care for it, fix it when it’s broken
and heal it when it’s sick.
There are just some things that make you happy, no matter what.
"The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost".
say G. K. Chesterton
Life is important, like people you know who are special.
Suppose one morning you never wake up, do all your friends
and other loved ones know you love them?
Let every one of your friends and other loved ones
know you love them. Even if you think they don’t love you back.
If you deny love that is given to you, if you refuse to give
love because you fear loss, then your life will be
empty and your loss greater.
Simon and Garfunkel wrote that very haunting song,
" The Sound of Silence ". It goes: Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking; people hearing without listening;
people writing songs that voices never shared,
because no one dared disturb the sound of silence..
It is a terrifying picture of our modern world,
a world without communication and without love.
You have to listen for love in those around you.
If you listen intently you will discover
that you are a lot more loved than you realise.
Just take time to Listen!